Thx Noob
by Boondock Jake
Summary: Set After "The Perfect Gift". Aeris ponders her odd relationship with Leo and why she puts up with him.


Thx Noob

_All VGCats characters belong to Scott Ramsoomair._

Aeris really disliked Leo sometimes.

Actually, the term 'disliked' was her putting it nicely. She HATED Leo almost most of the time. Just about everything about the gray cat she couldn't stand.

He was a complete retard and the fact he could function outside in society without some sort of aid was unbelievable. He wasted absurd amounts of money, mostly hers, on completely useless pieces of crap. Any time damage was done to their one story house they shared, it was always, _always_ because of him. Lawsuits, death threats, ads to see if you want a bigger penis were all common mail that filled their box. All addressed to him.

Leo was an idiot that had no idea he was an idiot. The worst kind of idiot.

And the morons he brought over to hang out were another story.

One retard she could barely handle but a room full? She would rather spend the rest of her life playing Left for Dead 2 with the AI bot completely screwing up her missions and wasting her med kits.

Ternaldo was almost as bad as Leo. Why Leo brings him over to play D and D, she'll never understand. Ternaldo could not grasp the concept that he can't use his Yu-Gi-Oh cards or whatever stupid deck he has with him. He'll complain that he's a duel master or head trainer of whatever which usually caused her to explode in a fit of rage, walking out on the game or dealing out harsh blows. The latter was always satisfying.

Krug was absolutely pointless to have around when playing games. He would either eat the dice or destroy the controllers they had because the rumbling it caused made him think it was possessed by a rival demon. Aeris didn't even think Krug knew what video games were.

Pantsman was slightly better but not by much. How he and Leo ever met is a complete mystery. All she knew was that he was a less than average crime fighter, if you could call him that, which had a weakness for vodka coolers and harassing the Justice League. Pantsman was at least capable of getting through a game without doing something completely stupid. Most of the time.

Johnny Evilguy. The guy eats _testicles_. Enough said.

She would never have to deal with these assholes in the first place if it wasn't for her annoying housemate.

Leo often made Aeris life a complete living hell.

She paused the game she was currently playing on her Playstation. The Dungeon Guy 2 screen came up and her room became silent except for the TV's echo in the next room.

If she hated him so much…why was she here then?

Looking to her left, she saw the Dungeon Guy 2 package sitting on the floor next to her beanbag chair. She reached out and gently picked it up, looking at the cover, her mind pondering the question.

In all honesty, Leo was the only friend Aeris ever had.

She was a loner throughout most of her school days. This was due to the fact that the pink cat wasn't much of a people person and often chose video games over social interaction. Despite staying away from people, this didn't disqualify her from the harassing of the local bully, Solid Snake.

Why he picked on her, she had no idea. The guy was a complete jerk and she figured it was some sort of testosterone thing that made him feel like a big man to push those weaker around.

Aeris remembers the day he pushed her from behind, knocking her book to the floor. When asking him why he had to be such a jerk, he proceeded to spew that crap about being on the battlefield and so on and so forth. It wasn't until that a gray cat with a blue bell around his neck snuck up behind him and yelled, "ALARM!"

Snake panicked and rushed into the nearest open locker to avoid being detected by any enemies. The other cat locked the locker with a satisfying grin on his muzzle.

He picked up her book for her while she stood there in surprise. "Falls for it every time. Here, you dropped this." He said, handing her back the book, his friendly green eyes meeting her blue ones. With that he waved her a good bye and headed off down the hall.

Aeris stood in the middle of the hall, watching the mystery feline disappear around a corner.

It wasn't until a few seconds later that she felt the blood rush to her cheeks and the white fur suddenly became a light red. Hugging her book close to her chest, Aeris shuffled away awkwardly.

For the rest of the day, she could not stop thinking about the boy. And every time she did, the blush would return. It wasn't until the next day that Aeris met the boy again.

It was during lunch and whiles all the other children were on the playground or the field, he was under a tree playing a Gameboy. He wore blue shorts that matched his striped blue shirt with wavy hair that danced lazily in the warm breeze. Aeris thought that he looked a lot like Lucas from Earthbound.

Aeris approached him timidly and gave a shy greeting. He looked up and gave her a warm friendly smile, returning the greeting with enthusiasm. She took note of his blue colored Gameboy and asked him what he was playing.

"Pokémon Yellow! In this one, you start off with Pikachu, just like in the show!" He exclaimed. "Would you like to play?" He asked her.

For the rest of lunch, the two felines sat under the tree, they're eyes transfixed on the tiny screen in front of them.

Aeris ran her hands through her hair and sat back in her beanbag chair. She thought about that memory and the one before it one more time and she was more than surprised to find that blush return to her cheeks again after all these years.

While she would never admit it to anyone in a million years, even if they were shoving razor blades under her eyelids, there was a time were she had a crush on Leo.

Leo was the only person she wanted to be around. She always attributed it to the fact that he was just as a big video game fanatic as her. When she went to his house for the first time, she stood in awe of his many games and systems. Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Original NES, Super Mario Bros 3, Fatal Fury, Street Fighter 2, Sonic, Streets of Rage, Final Fantasy, Donkey Kong Country, the list went on. She couldn't believe how much he had. Aeris practically had to beg her parents for a Genesis for over a year before she got it.

Everyday after school and on weekends, Aeris was over at Leo's playing all the latest games. Not only could she play to her heart's content but was able to spend time with her first crush. She would look forward to going to school to talk about the newest review or cheat codes with him then attempting to beat Turtles in Time after class. Aeris never revealed to Leo about her crush. It was too embarrassing.

This trend would continue on into High School which is when things began to change.

It seemed the older Leo got, the dumber he became. He started to say and do the stupidest things. The more time Aeris spent with him, the more he started to get under her skin. He would make scenes during lunch as well as class and he was constantly kept after school. People avoided him as much as possible which in turn, meant avoiding her as they were always together. Aeris didn't mind though as she never liked the cliqs and the phonies she encountered on a day to day basis at school.

But it was during these times that Aeris's crush started to fade.

She still enjoyed playing video games with him and hanging out for the most part. When they were alone, his stupidity wasn't as extreme but as soon as they were in public, a scene was to be made thanks to the gray feline. Needless to say, it became a rather large turn off for her. Aeris's memories of Leo as that sweet boy who came to her rescue soon disappeared and were replaced with contempt.

Which brought her back to her original question.

Without her, Leo would have no one. There wasn't a person alive in this world or the next that would put up with him. He would be sitting on the street in the rain, carrying on the ramblings of that damn hobo. Aeris took care of him whether he knew it or not. But as she looked back to the Dungeon Guy box cover, she realized something.

Without him, she would have no one either.

Aeris never made another friend all through out high school and college. While it was a personal choice for her to stay out of the daily drawls of society, Leo some how always got her out to do some sort of activity other than video games. As socially awkward as Leo was, though not necessarily by choice, he was open to more things and often dragged her along. And while she would deny it, there were times were she quite enjoyed herself.

Aeris got out of her beanbag chair and headed into the TV room. Leo was still asleep on the couch, his mouth wide open and drool wetting the sleeve of his shirt. However he got the money to pay for that game, he worked himself stupid for it. Aeris chuckled slightly, noticing her lipstick stain was still on his forehead and the note still fastened to his shirt.

Upon looking at Leo, she suddenly saw that sweet little boy that came to rescue again. And she got the feeling that it wouldn't be the last time.

Leo stirred in his sleep and his eyes suddenly fluttered open. He sat up and let out a large yawn, stretching his arms, completely oblivious to the note and lipstick. When he realized she was there, he gave her a big smile.

"Hi Aeris. Did you get your Christmas present?" He asked.

"Yeah, I did." She replied softly, a smirk on her lips.

"Um…did you like it?" Leo asked, his tail twitching nervously, his eyes avoiding her gaze.

Aeris paused for a moment. She thought of the idea of calling him an idiot and pointing out the fact that he got her the wrong game as would be expected from her. But instead she expanded her smile and said,

"I love it. It was exactly what I wanted. Thank you Leo."

Leo breathed a sigh of relief that he didn't screw up and get a fist in the face for it.

"It's a multiplayer game too. Did you wanna play for a bit? There are some pretty neat classes in it." She asked, motioning to her room with her hand.

"Absolutely!" Leo cried, jumping up from his seat. Aeris returned to her beanbag chair and Leo took a spot on the floor beside her, picking up an extra controller. As the two cats played the game, Aeris looked at Leo from the corner of her eye and knew the answer to her question. She couldn't stand him sometimes, but without Leo, life wouldn't be as interesting.

And in all honesty, the game of life was so much more interesting with a second player.


End file.
